When a mobile communication device captures for example a photo, or a video, the item can be synchronized with the cloud, and is for instance automatically synchronized with other devices. Downloading through cellular connection might however lead the user to run out of his quota of cellular connection, or might result in high costs for the user in terms for example of money, energy consumption, time, etc. The problem intensifies when the user is roaming.
Mobile application developers indicate their preferences about synchronization process in the application policy. For example, on the 12 Jul. 2012, the New York Times and the Research and Development Lab jointly launched a secure data locker for personal location information application under the name OpenPaths (https://openpaths.cc). The purpose of the application is to gather personal location information for personal use as well as to enable sharing of this information for purposes of research. In addition to the location information, the time at which the location information is gathered is also recorded. The OpenPaths app runs in the background of the mobile communication device and is designed to have minimal impact on battery life. Rather than reporting the position of the mobile communication device continuously via GPS, the app logs any “significant” change in location as determined by the device APIs. The app allows visualization of the location history of the device, and periodically syncs any recorded data with the OpenPaths servers. As the background synchronization of location and time information is scheduled periodically, the user of the mobile communication device might run out of his quota of cellular connection. There exists also a risk for excessive costs generated by the transfer of the information in terms for example of money, syncing time, etc. Auto-sync can be manually turned off by the user. This requires the manual intervention of the user, and a consequence thereof is that the device and cloud storage will no longer be synchronized.
Most mobile communication devices with data connectivity provide the user with the ability to use a Wi-Fi network exclusively for background application synchronization. However, this method is invasive and requires the intervention of the user. He might not be allowed to connect to a network if he does not have permission. A Wi-Fi connection might also be over-subscribed, i.e. might present issues such as high congestion, low signal power, etc. These issues could result in high costs for the user. The synchronization might for example last longer than wanted. Furthermore, by the time a user finds a Wi-Fi network he can connect to, the update of the application might be out-dated and not relevant anymore.
It is an objective of the present invention to disclose a system and the related method that overcome the above identified shortcomings of existing tools. More particularly, it is an objective to disclose such a system and method for scheduling background synchronization of application data between a mobile communication device and a cloud storage, with reduced risk for slow or even outdated synchronization, and with reduced risk for excessive costs. It is a further objective to disclose such a system that enables the scheduling of a background synchronization of an application data in a fast and efficient manner.